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TV - the magic box of delights. | 0:00:02 | 0:00:03 | |
As kids, it showed us a million different worlds | 0:00:03 | 0:00:07 | |
all from our living room. | 0:00:07 | 0:00:09 | |
-This takes me right back. -That's so embarrassing! | 0:00:09 | 0:00:12 | |
I am genuinely shocked. | 0:00:12 | 0:00:14 | |
Each day, I'm going to journey through | 0:00:14 | 0:00:17 | |
the wonderful world of telly with one of our favourite celebrities. | 0:00:17 | 0:00:21 | |
It is just so silly. | 0:00:21 | 0:00:23 | |
Ah! Love it! | 0:00:23 | 0:00:25 | |
Is it Mr Benn? | 0:00:25 | 0:00:26 | |
-THEY SING -Shut it! | 0:00:26 | 0:00:28 | |
As they select the iconic TV moments... | 0:00:28 | 0:00:31 | |
Oh, he-llo! | 0:00:31 | 0:00:33 | |
..that tell us the stories of their lives. | 0:00:33 | 0:00:36 | |
WOMAN GASPS | 0:00:36 | 0:00:37 | |
Oh, my gosh. | 0:00:37 | 0:00:39 | |
-BOTH: -Cheers. | 0:00:39 | 0:00:40 | |
Some will make you laugh... | 0:00:40 | 0:00:41 | |
HE PRETENDS TO WEEP | 0:00:41 | 0:00:43 | |
Oh, no! | 0:00:43 | 0:00:45 | |
..some will surprise... | 0:00:45 | 0:00:46 | |
SHE SCREAMS AND LAUGHS | 0:00:46 | 0:00:48 | |
..many will inspire... | 0:00:48 | 0:00:50 | |
Look at this. Why wouldn't you want to watch this? | 0:00:50 | 0:00:53 | |
..and others will move us. | 0:00:53 | 0:00:55 | |
Seeing that there made a huge impact on me. | 0:00:55 | 0:00:58 | |
BABY CRIES | 0:00:58 | 0:00:59 | |
Got a handkerchief? | 0:00:59 | 0:01:01 | |
So come watch with us, as we rewind | 0:01:01 | 0:01:04 | |
to the classic telly that shaped | 0:01:04 | 0:01:07 | |
those wide-eyed youngsters into the much-loved stars they are today. | 0:01:07 | 0:01:11 | |
Welcome to The TV That Made Me. | 0:01:21 | 0:01:23 | |
My guest today is an amazing lady who has dedicated most of | 0:01:23 | 0:01:27 | |
her life to righting wrongs. | 0:01:27 | 0:01:30 | |
It is Dame Esther Rantzen! | 0:01:30 | 0:01:32 | |
CHEERING | 0:01:32 | 0:01:34 | |
-Oh, welcome. -Thank you. -Do I get a peck? | 0:01:34 | 0:01:37 | |
She is a consumer champion, founder of ChildLine | 0:01:37 | 0:01:39 | |
and one of the greatest broadcasters to ever grace the British Isles. | 0:01:39 | 0:01:44 | |
The TV that made Dame Esther includes | 0:01:45 | 0:01:47 | |
a drama that rocked the nation and crashed the BBC switchboard... | 0:01:47 | 0:01:52 | |
the queen of "walkies!" and "siiiit"... | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
..and of course, we will be looking at | 0:01:57 | 0:01:59 | |
everyone's favourite consumer show. | 0:01:59 | 0:02:01 | |
APPLAUSE | 0:02:01 | 0:02:03 | |
-Please, come and sit down. Welcome to my flat. -Lovely. | 0:02:03 | 0:02:06 | |
-My lodgers. -Yes. | 0:02:06 | 0:02:08 | |
-Very tasteful. -Do you like it? -It's nice, isn't it? | 0:02:08 | 0:02:11 | |
Is there anything here that you may have had at home? | 0:02:11 | 0:02:15 | |
Not one single thing. | 0:02:15 | 0:02:17 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:02:17 | 0:02:19 | |
So, Esther, are you a fan of nostalgia? | 0:02:19 | 0:02:22 | |
Yes, yes, yes, I love looking back and seeing old programmes | 0:02:22 | 0:02:27 | |
and hearing old music, makes me feel young again, I love it. | 0:02:27 | 0:02:30 | |
-What was your home like growing up? -OK, I grew up... | 0:02:30 | 0:02:35 | |
I was born in Berkhamsted during the war, | 0:02:35 | 0:02:37 | |
about the same time as Dunkirk. | 0:02:37 | 0:02:39 | |
And we lived in a typical little semidetached house, | 0:02:39 | 0:02:45 | |
with a privet hedge, and my dad used to wash | 0:02:45 | 0:02:48 | |
the car on a Sunday morning and it was all very respectable. | 0:02:48 | 0:02:51 | |
Today is a celebration, a celebration of television | 0:02:51 | 0:02:54 | |
that you have watched and loved and picked for us today. | 0:02:54 | 0:02:58 | |
We are going to rewind the clock | 0:02:58 | 0:02:59 | |
and look at a young Esther Rantzen. | 0:02:59 | 0:03:01 | |
-Oh, dear. -Or should I say Dame...Esther Rantzen. | 0:03:01 | 0:03:04 | |
-Well, say it once, cos it's a great honour... -Oh, it is. | 0:03:04 | 0:03:07 | |
..but don't frighten me with it all the way through. | 0:03:07 | 0:03:09 | |
-OK, so I can call you Esther? -Please do. | 0:03:09 | 0:03:11 | |
Otherwise I will have to be very proper. | 0:03:11 | 0:03:14 | |
Well, cop a look at this, this is Esther. | 0:03:14 | 0:03:16 | |
-LAUGHTER -OK. | 0:03:16 | 0:03:18 | |
Esther Rantzen was born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire | 0:03:18 | 0:03:21 | |
in 1940 to parents Katherine and Harry. | 0:03:21 | 0:03:24 | |
After a spell living in New York whilst her father | 0:03:24 | 0:03:27 | |
worked for the UN, the family headed back to the UK, | 0:03:27 | 0:03:30 | |
where Esther attended Oxford University. | 0:03:30 | 0:03:33 | |
After a stint as a BBC Radio assistant, | 0:03:33 | 0:03:36 | |
she moved into television as a reporter for Braden's Week. | 0:03:36 | 0:03:40 | |
In 1973, Esther became a true household name, | 0:03:41 | 0:03:45 | |
as she presented the magazine show That's Life, | 0:03:45 | 0:03:48 | |
which attracted up to 18 million viewers each week. | 0:03:48 | 0:03:52 | |
She set up ChildLine in October 1986, and last year alone, | 0:03:52 | 0:03:56 | |
ChildLine dealt with over 300,000 young people reaching out for help. | 0:03:56 | 0:04:02 | |
Esther's incredible achievements were recognised in 2015, | 0:04:02 | 0:04:06 | |
when she was made a dame. | 0:04:06 | 0:04:07 | |
-Was it a nice trip down memory lane? -It certainly was. | 0:04:08 | 0:04:11 | |
BRIAN LAUGHS | 0:04:11 | 0:04:14 | |
I tell you what I always think about that. | 0:04:14 | 0:04:16 | |
-If I had known that it was going to be all right... -Mmm. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:19 | |
..how happy I would have been then. | 0:04:19 | 0:04:20 | |
You get so worried when you're a kid, and you think things aren't | 0:04:20 | 0:04:24 | |
going to work out, but actually, here you are at 75, | 0:04:24 | 0:04:27 | |
and I have been very lucky. | 0:04:27 | 0:04:29 | |
So was TV a big part of your life growing up? | 0:04:34 | 0:04:36 | |
Actually, it was, because my late father was something | 0:04:36 | 0:04:41 | |
-quite senior in the BBC - sorry about showing off. -No, no. | 0:04:41 | 0:04:45 | |
But he was one of the television pioneers, | 0:04:45 | 0:04:46 | |
so we actually had a television in 1946. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:50 | |
But nothing to watch. | 0:04:50 | 0:04:52 | |
-I remember Andy Pandy. -Yes. -I remember Muffin The Mule. | 0:04:54 | 0:04:57 | |
I remember the little dot disappearing in the centre | 0:04:57 | 0:05:00 | |
of the screen. | 0:05:00 | 0:05:01 | |
So you talk about the dot, do you remember the interlude? | 0:05:01 | 0:05:05 | |
The interlude was... | 0:05:05 | 0:05:06 | |
It was actually, in some ways, better than the programme. | 0:05:06 | 0:05:10 | |
The Potter's Wheel interlude was introduced in February 1953, | 0:05:14 | 0:05:18 | |
with a variety of these short films intended to cover | 0:05:18 | 0:05:21 | |
the many intervals in programming. | 0:05:21 | 0:05:24 | |
In those days, between programmes, you had this lovely soothing moment | 0:05:27 | 0:05:31 | |
where you could just relax, | 0:05:31 | 0:05:33 | |
chat to whoever you were sitting with, and there would be | 0:05:33 | 0:05:36 | |
a potter doing something artistic | 0:05:36 | 0:05:39 | |
and not at all rude with bits of clay. | 0:05:39 | 0:05:41 | |
And it just put you in a good mood. | 0:05:50 | 0:05:52 | |
Well, to put you in a good mood now, I would like to do my own... | 0:05:52 | 0:05:56 | |
-interlude for you. -Erm... | 0:05:56 | 0:05:58 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:05:58 | 0:05:59 | |
-Shall I go over there? -This might be terribly rude. -No! You are a dame. | 0:05:59 | 0:06:04 | |
You're going to make a lot of mess, aren't you? | 0:06:04 | 0:06:06 | |
You are preparing yourself for this. | 0:06:06 | 0:06:09 | |
I am doing this for you, Esther. Away we go. | 0:06:09 | 0:06:12 | |
I have never, ever used a potter's wheel in my life. | 0:06:14 | 0:06:18 | |
The interlude ranged in length | 0:06:21 | 0:06:23 | |
and showed everything from spinning wheels to seascapes. | 0:06:23 | 0:06:27 | |
Oh, isn't this lovely? | 0:06:28 | 0:06:29 | |
This film shows the hands of Georges Aubertin | 0:06:31 | 0:06:34 | |
as he throws a pot accompanied by music. | 0:06:34 | 0:06:37 | |
-The music was so important. -Don't watch the telly, Esther, watch me. | 0:06:37 | 0:06:42 | |
-I'm sorry, sorry. -I am working like a dog here. | 0:06:42 | 0:06:46 | |
'Viewers who stayed alert might have noticed that Aubertin | 0:06:47 | 0:06:50 | |
'never finished the pot, just kept remodelling it.' | 0:06:50 | 0:06:54 | |
I'm getting a bit wobbly, a bit wobbly. | 0:06:54 | 0:06:56 | |
Oh, oh, oh, got a wobbly bit, wobbly bit. | 0:06:57 | 0:07:00 | |
He's making his flatter. | 0:07:01 | 0:07:03 | |
'Well, ladies and gentlemen, that is not how I roll.' | 0:07:03 | 0:07:07 | |
APPLAUSE | 0:07:12 | 0:07:14 | |
I can't believe I have actually done that. That is absolutely fantastic. | 0:07:18 | 0:07:22 | |
Very, very impressive. | 0:07:22 | 0:07:24 | |
As pleased as I am with my pottery, I doubt I would ever have | 0:07:26 | 0:07:30 | |
made it as a presenter on any of the classic craft shows. | 0:07:30 | 0:07:33 | |
Blue Peter led the way in 1958, | 0:07:33 | 0:07:36 | |
and I certainly remember wanting to be awarded a badge. | 0:07:36 | 0:07:39 | |
I still live in hope, although maybe not for my pot. | 0:07:39 | 0:07:43 | |
Tony Hart with Morph and the gallery slot, which we all loved, | 0:07:43 | 0:07:47 | |
dominated a decade of telly crafting between 1984 and 1993. | 0:07:47 | 0:07:52 | |
Morph maintained his fame with another kids' craft show | 0:07:52 | 0:07:56 | |
when he joined Kirsten O'Brien and co | 0:07:56 | 0:07:58 | |
on SMart, which ran for 16 series. | 0:07:58 | 0:08:01 | |
At the more grown-up end of the scale, | 0:08:02 | 0:08:04 | |
we have the queen of the handmade home, Kirstie Allsopp, | 0:08:04 | 0:08:09 | |
encouraging us to use our imagination, | 0:08:09 | 0:08:11 | |
something Esther's father would often do. | 0:08:11 | 0:08:15 | |
Your father, he was very much into his technology, wasn't he? | 0:08:15 | 0:08:18 | |
My father was one of the cleverest people I have ever met. | 0:08:18 | 0:08:21 | |
He was an electrical engineer, he worked for the BBC, | 0:08:21 | 0:08:25 | |
he worked for Lord Reith... | 0:08:25 | 0:08:27 | |
-and he was one of the pioneers in television. -Really? | 0:08:27 | 0:08:31 | |
But where I am so grateful to him was that he had two daughters, | 0:08:31 | 0:08:36 | |
and this was at a time when, for a lot of girls and women, | 0:08:36 | 0:08:40 | |
the ambition was get married, have children, settle down, | 0:08:40 | 0:08:44 | |
good housewife, cook, dust - all those things. | 0:08:44 | 0:08:47 | |
My parents wanted both of us to go to university and have careers. | 0:08:47 | 0:08:51 | |
-Oh, wonderful. -And this was, you know, born in the 1940s, | 0:08:51 | 0:08:54 | |
-so this was fairly unusual. -Mm-hmm. | 0:08:54 | 0:08:56 | |
So I am very grateful to both my parents for their aspirations. | 0:08:56 | 0:09:00 | |
So you have spoken about your dad, what about your mum? | 0:09:00 | 0:09:03 | |
She was... | 0:09:03 | 0:09:05 | |
SHE SIGHS | 0:09:05 | 0:09:07 | |
..in deep disguise. She was so naughty... | 0:09:07 | 0:09:12 | |
-BRIAN LAUGHS -..so anarchic. | 0:09:12 | 0:09:14 | |
You would see this dear, little old lady in her later life, | 0:09:14 | 0:09:17 | |
with white curls and glasses, very respectable, | 0:09:17 | 0:09:21 | |
and when she came on any of my shows, | 0:09:21 | 0:09:23 | |
sometimes she would come on my talk show, | 0:09:23 | 0:09:25 | |
she would always get a round of applause for being so wicked. | 0:09:25 | 0:09:29 | |
Really? Like a wicked sense of humour? | 0:09:29 | 0:09:31 | |
Wicked sense of humour, always saying the unpredictable. | 0:09:31 | 0:09:34 | |
What sort of things would she do? | 0:09:34 | 0:09:37 | |
-Does anything spring to mind? -I remember Russell Harty... -Oh, yes. | 0:09:37 | 0:09:41 | |
..thought that she was a dear, little, old lady, | 0:09:41 | 0:09:43 | |
he was interviewing people's mothers. | 0:09:43 | 0:09:46 | |
And he said to her, lovingly, | 0:09:46 | 0:09:48 | |
"So, Mrs Rantzen, do you do a lot of baby-sitting for Esther? | 0:09:48 | 0:09:52 | |
"Would you babysit for me?" | 0:09:52 | 0:09:54 | |
And she said, "Russell, you couldn't afford me." | 0:09:54 | 0:09:57 | |
It was good, it was good. But the television, in spite of the fact | 0:09:58 | 0:10:01 | |
we had a very early television, | 0:10:01 | 0:10:03 | |
my respectable parents thought it killed | 0:10:03 | 0:10:06 | |
the art of conversation, so it was never allowed in the sitting room. | 0:10:06 | 0:10:10 | |
-It had to be out in the hall. -In the hall?! | 0:10:10 | 0:10:13 | |
So we would put a couple of chairs in the hall, | 0:10:13 | 0:10:15 | |
and there was a boy who used to deliver the evening paper | 0:10:15 | 0:10:18 | |
who spent hours looking through the letterbox. | 0:10:18 | 0:10:21 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:10:21 | 0:10:22 | |
We were a slightly eccentric family, looking back. | 0:10:22 | 0:10:25 | |
-I hope you're ready for this. -Go on. | 0:10:30 | 0:10:32 | |
This was, of course, Cathy Come Home. | 0:10:32 | 0:10:34 | |
Let's take him away without making any fuss, huh? | 0:10:34 | 0:10:37 | |
What right have you got to take my kids from me? | 0:10:37 | 0:10:40 | |
Well, you can't find a place for them, can you? | 0:10:40 | 0:10:43 | |
We can't have them sleeping out. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:44 | |
Will you help Mummy pack up? | 0:10:44 | 0:10:46 | |
In 1966, the BBC first broadcast Ken Loach's gritty television drama, | 0:10:46 | 0:10:51 | |
which dealt with a young family's descent into homelessness. | 0:10:51 | 0:10:55 | |
It was watched by an audience of 12 million, | 0:10:55 | 0:10:58 | |
a quarter of the British population at the time. | 0:10:58 | 0:11:01 | |
And afterwards, the BBC switchboard crashed, because so many viewers | 0:11:01 | 0:11:04 | |
called in to ask what they could do to help. | 0:11:04 | 0:11:08 | |
We had a bite to eat from the cafeteria. | 0:11:08 | 0:11:10 | |
Of course, the kiddies didn't know what was going to happen. | 0:11:10 | 0:11:13 | |
But I knew they'd catch up with us. | 0:11:13 | 0:11:15 | |
-SCREAMING: -You're not having them! | 0:11:15 | 0:11:17 | |
BABIES SCREAM AND CRY | 0:11:17 | 0:11:20 | |
-Harrowing, isn't it? -Mmm. | 0:11:20 | 0:11:22 | |
BABIES SCREAM AND CRY | 0:11:22 | 0:11:24 | |
'66, Cathy Come Home. | 0:11:27 | 0:11:29 | |
-But it still touches you, I can see your eyes... -Oh, yes. Yes, yes. | 0:11:29 | 0:11:32 | |
Do you think Ken Loach realised what he was making there? | 0:11:32 | 0:11:35 | |
-Certainly, it looks like a documentary. -Hmm. | 0:11:35 | 0:11:37 | |
Extraordinarily well-acted. | 0:11:37 | 0:11:40 | |
Ken is a wonderful director. | 0:11:40 | 0:11:43 | |
It was with pioneers like that that actually made you see that | 0:11:43 | 0:11:48 | |
people sometimes have circumstances which they are powerless | 0:11:48 | 0:11:53 | |
to protect their own children against. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:56 | |
That programme really changed things. | 0:11:56 | 0:11:58 | |
It shocked the nation and they wanted to do something about it. | 0:11:58 | 0:12:02 | |
-Got a handkerchief? -We have got some, do you want one? | 0:12:02 | 0:12:04 | |
OK, I will keep one by me. Are you going to do that to me again? | 0:12:04 | 0:12:07 | |
-No, no. -Promise? -Yes. -All right, Stick it there, in case. | 0:12:07 | 0:12:10 | |
It's time to move on now to your TV fear. | 0:12:16 | 0:12:19 | |
A pioneering BBC series that gave us Brits an uncensored look | 0:12:19 | 0:12:25 | |
into the medical profession. | 0:12:25 | 0:12:28 | |
But first, Esther... | 0:12:28 | 0:12:29 | |
-Yes, dear? -..we're going to need these. I'll pop out to the kitchen. | 0:12:29 | 0:12:33 | |
-He's left me all alone! -Which colour do you want? | 0:12:33 | 0:12:36 | |
-Oh! I'll have the blue, please. -Blue. | 0:12:36 | 0:12:39 | |
Do you remember... | 0:12:40 | 0:12:43 | |
what you used to do? | 0:12:43 | 0:12:44 | |
Now, shall I explain what you're doing? | 0:12:47 | 0:12:50 | |
-Yes, it's all yours, Esther. -Never looked lovelier. | 0:12:50 | 0:12:52 | |
Thank you. | 0:12:52 | 0:12:54 | |
Picture the scene. | 0:12:54 | 0:12:55 | |
-I think it was Your Life In Their Hands? -Mmm. | 0:12:55 | 0:12:58 | |
-Which took you into the operating theatre, OK? -Yeah. | 0:12:58 | 0:13:02 | |
And I can't stand it. | 0:13:02 | 0:13:03 | |
I'm totally squeamish, I can't watch anything like that. | 0:13:03 | 0:13:06 | |
But my sister and my mother were addicted to it. | 0:13:06 | 0:13:09 | |
So I was coming downstairs, remember the television in the hall? | 0:13:09 | 0:13:12 | |
-Still in the hall? -Still in the hall. | 0:13:12 | 0:13:14 | |
They're sitting on chairs, they were watching television like that. | 0:13:14 | 0:13:20 | |
And I came down and saw these two lunatics with duffel coats | 0:13:20 | 0:13:23 | |
on back to front, the hoods over their faces, | 0:13:23 | 0:13:26 | |
and I said to them, "You could always switch the thing off!" | 0:13:26 | 0:13:29 | |
And they said, "No, we don't want to miss anything!" | 0:13:29 | 0:13:32 | |
Silly women. | 0:13:32 | 0:13:34 | |
Do you want to keep the duffle coat? Are you up for this? | 0:13:34 | 0:13:37 | |
-Um... -Shall we have a little look? | 0:13:37 | 0:13:38 | |
-I'd like to keep it by me, just in case. -As a comfort blanket, OK. | 0:13:38 | 0:13:41 | |
-Thank you. -OK, here we go. | 0:13:41 | 0:13:42 | |
Originally presented by Dr Charles Fletcher, this ground-breaking | 0:13:42 | 0:13:46 | |
medical series first aired in February 1958, | 0:13:46 | 0:13:49 | |
giving the British public an insight | 0:13:49 | 0:13:51 | |
into the work of our medical professionals. | 0:13:51 | 0:13:54 | |
In this case, the show follows a liver operation. | 0:13:54 | 0:13:58 | |
I've said before in this series that it's not light entertainment. | 0:13:58 | 0:14:01 | |
ESTHER LAUGHS It's blood and gore! | 0:14:01 | 0:14:04 | |
We know that a few people | 0:14:04 | 0:14:05 | |
have been upset by the films we've shown before. | 0:14:05 | 0:14:08 | |
I can tell you who they are! | 0:14:08 | 0:14:10 | |
In fact, some people have actually fainted. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:13 | |
So, don't look in for the next few minutes... | 0:14:13 | 0:14:15 | |
ESTHER LAUGHS | 0:14:15 | 0:14:17 | |
Turn down the vision on your set or look away and I'll tell you | 0:14:17 | 0:14:21 | |
when the film is over so that you can look in again. | 0:14:21 | 0:14:24 | |
-VOICE-OVER: -The incision is being made... | 0:14:24 | 0:14:27 | |
Oh, is it... | 0:14:27 | 0:14:29 | |
Oh! | 0:14:29 | 0:14:31 | |
I am dissecting amongst the deeper tissues... | 0:14:31 | 0:14:35 | |
This eye-opening medical series was gory, but compelling viewing. | 0:14:35 | 0:14:40 | |
The programme understandably divided and doctors and viewers alike. | 0:14:40 | 0:14:44 | |
No doubt it was way ahead of its time. | 0:14:44 | 0:14:47 | |
..about an inch of the length, you can see the liver, | 0:14:47 | 0:14:51 | |
which instead of being smooth, is very lumpy. | 0:14:51 | 0:14:54 | |
Oh, that's...healthy. | 0:14:54 | 0:14:57 | |
-Thank God it's in black and white! -Oh, he's digging around! Look! | 0:14:57 | 0:15:01 | |
Can you imagine having someone poking around in your tummy? | 0:15:01 | 0:15:06 | |
-I have to tell you, there are people fainting in the audience. -AUDIENCE LAUGHS | 0:15:06 | 0:15:10 | |
That's the end of the operation, | 0:15:10 | 0:15:11 | |
so those of you who've turned down your vision can now turn it up. | 0:15:11 | 0:15:14 | |
So, Esther, now we're moving on to your next choice. | 0:15:20 | 0:15:23 | |
Here's a lady who was not afraid of taking the lead. | 0:15:23 | 0:15:27 | |
-Now... -Ah! | 0:15:27 | 0:15:29 | |
Barbara Woodhouse. | 0:15:29 | 0:15:32 | |
Hello, little doggy! Now, as we know, she's got... HAD a bad leg, | 0:15:32 | 0:15:35 | |
it's not a bad leg now, is it? But we mustn't let her sit, Nicola. | 0:15:35 | 0:15:38 | |
-It's a him, is it? -Yeah. | 0:15:38 | 0:15:40 | |
Barbara Woodhouse became a household name in the '80s | 0:15:40 | 0:15:43 | |
and a ten-part series training dogs the Woodhouse way | 0:15:43 | 0:15:46 | |
coined a couple of catchphrases we still use today. | 0:15:46 | 0:15:49 | |
If you're going to jerk him, the hand comes on... Show me how. | 0:15:49 | 0:15:52 | |
Like that... And jerk! No, much harder than that. And let go. | 0:15:52 | 0:15:56 | |
Do you remember, it comes right up here? Righto. Good boy. | 0:15:56 | 0:15:59 | |
You see, these days, somebody would give her a stylist | 0:15:59 | 0:16:02 | |
and they'd do something about her hair. | 0:16:02 | 0:16:05 | |
-And they'd do something about that kilt. -Mm-hm. -Bless her. | 0:16:05 | 0:16:09 | |
There's nothing wrong with a bit of tartan. | 0:16:09 | 0:16:11 | |
I think I'm wearing the same as her in this... | 0:16:11 | 0:16:13 | |
-I think you may be. -Yeah. -I think you certainly are. | 0:16:13 | 0:16:15 | |
Tap your hand and really encourage him! Let's go, shall we? | 0:16:15 | 0:16:18 | |
Come on, Skipper, walkies! Jerk him back now. | 0:16:18 | 0:16:21 | |
No, that's across you, try and jerk | 0:16:21 | 0:16:22 | |
back if he's ahead. That's right. That'll stop him. | 0:16:22 | 0:16:25 | |
As iconic as Barbara was, these days, | 0:16:25 | 0:16:27 | |
dog training techniques have evolved. | 0:16:27 | 0:16:30 | |
-Wait! -Now, you did it wrong. You did it over his face. | 0:16:30 | 0:16:33 | |
Wait! Just by your hip. | 0:16:33 | 0:16:35 | |
"Stupid girl, come on!" | 0:16:36 | 0:16:38 | |
BOTH: Wait! | 0:16:38 | 0:16:39 | |
Spit! I want to feel something. | 0:16:39 | 0:16:41 | |
-Wai-t! -Wai-T! -Oh, splendid. | 0:16:41 | 0:16:43 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:16:43 | 0:16:45 | |
So, what was it about Barbara that you liked? | 0:16:49 | 0:16:52 | |
I mean, she IS magnetic, isn't she? You're just drawn to her. | 0:16:52 | 0:16:55 | |
-She's expert, she knows what she's talking about. -And formidable. | 0:16:55 | 0:16:58 | |
-AS BARBARA MOORHOUSE: -"Jerk it a bit harder! Jerk it across!" | 0:16:58 | 0:17:02 | |
I mean, oh, gosh! | 0:17:02 | 0:17:03 | |
-I mean, the RSPCA, everybody... -Yeah. -..would be up in arms. | 0:17:03 | 0:17:07 | |
What she proves is that bossy older women make television magic. | 0:17:07 | 0:17:12 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:17:12 | 0:17:14 | |
Somebody needs to tell the bosses at broadcasting. | 0:17:14 | 0:17:17 | |
-Because... I mean, Fanny Cradock! -Yes, she was another legend. | 0:17:17 | 0:17:20 | |
Absolutely extraordinary! | 0:17:20 | 0:17:21 | |
Mary Berry is much gentler. | 0:17:21 | 0:17:24 | |
I don't think she'd ever ask anyone to "spi-T", would she? | 0:17:24 | 0:17:26 | |
-LAUGHTER It's brilliant. -It's brilliant. | 0:17:26 | 0:17:28 | |
I mean, the show was just a huge phenomenon, really, in its time. | 0:17:28 | 0:17:31 | |
Well, it was. Well, who would want to miss that? | 0:17:31 | 0:17:33 | |
Your next choice is your biggest influence, | 0:17:42 | 0:17:45 | |
and here is a clip of you working alongside him. | 0:17:45 | 0:17:48 | |
And who was it? | 0:17:54 | 0:17:55 | |
Bernard Braden. Wonderful Canadian actor | 0:17:55 | 0:17:58 | |
who became the inventor of consumer television. | 0:17:58 | 0:18:02 | |
-Really? -Oh, yeah. | 0:18:02 | 0:18:03 | |
-This is where it all started, really? -It is. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:06 | |
That was really our office. | 0:18:06 | 0:18:08 | |
This is 1968. | 0:18:08 | 0:18:10 | |
I was 28. | 0:18:10 | 0:18:12 | |
Canadian Bernard Braden first worked in the UK | 0:18:12 | 0:18:15 | |
in the late '40s, but it was almost 20 years later | 0:18:15 | 0:18:18 | |
that Braden's Week hit our screens | 0:18:18 | 0:18:20 | |
and championed the brand-new format - | 0:18:20 | 0:18:22 | |
consumer television. | 0:18:22 | 0:18:24 | |
Thank you very much and good evening. | 0:18:24 | 0:18:26 | |
Bernie was just a genius, really, when it came to broadcasting. | 0:18:26 | 0:18:32 | |
He was creative. He sort of invented the genre. | 0:18:32 | 0:18:37 | |
And the theory was that this is what happened in the office, | 0:18:37 | 0:18:40 | |
that the researcher would come back with a story | 0:18:40 | 0:18:44 | |
and explain to the producer what had happened. | 0:18:44 | 0:18:46 | |
And so we were re-enacting, if you like, | 0:18:46 | 0:18:49 | |
in the studio, what had happened in the office. | 0:18:49 | 0:18:51 | |
Esther Rantzen has a story for us now. Esther? | 0:18:51 | 0:18:53 | |
Well, it's not so much a story, more a monologue. | 0:18:53 | 0:18:55 | |
SHE LAUGHS | 0:18:55 | 0:18:57 | |
One day a phone rang in the office, and a lovely voice said, | 0:18:57 | 0:18:59 | |
"Here, there was a loud bang in my kitchen, | 0:18:59 | 0:19:02 | |
"and it was my fridge. | 0:19:02 | 0:19:03 | |
"So I rang Electrolux in London and they said, | 0:19:03 | 0:19:06 | |
"'Oh, we can't do anything before February 4th.' | 0:19:06 | 0:19:09 | |
-"Well, I exploded." -Just like the fridge. | 0:19:09 | 0:19:12 | |
Brilliant, Esther. | 0:19:12 | 0:19:13 | |
Well, we did call Electrolux, | 0:19:13 | 0:19:15 | |
and they said a mechanic would visit Ms Carlin on Friday. | 0:19:15 | 0:19:18 | |
What made Electrolux change their mind? | 0:19:18 | 0:19:20 | |
She made a lot of fuss and a lot of noise. | 0:19:20 | 0:19:22 | |
So we said, "So that's the way to do it." | 0:19:22 | 0:19:25 | |
APPLAUSE Oh, well done. | 0:19:25 | 0:19:27 | |
Now, that was a monologue. | 0:19:27 | 0:19:29 | |
No autocue. HE LAUGHS | 0:19:29 | 0:19:31 | |
So that's John Pitman sitting next to me. | 0:19:31 | 0:19:33 | |
We're still very close friends. | 0:19:33 | 0:19:35 | |
Behind the desk, we used to grab each other's knees | 0:19:35 | 0:19:38 | |
to reassure each other, because we were nervous, terribly nervous. | 0:19:38 | 0:19:41 | |
We were both obviously in the pilot of Braden's Week, | 0:19:41 | 0:19:45 | |
but we both thought proper presenters would be put in the role. | 0:19:45 | 0:19:48 | |
And consumer programmes, as I say, Bernie invented them. | 0:19:48 | 0:19:51 | |
And then he went to Canada, to do that show in Canada, | 0:19:51 | 0:19:55 | |
using obviously a Canadian team, and left behind in England... | 0:19:55 | 0:19:58 | |
We still were getting letters from people with consumer complaints. | 0:19:58 | 0:20:02 | |
-So that's how That's Life! came about. -Oh, right. | 0:20:02 | 0:20:05 | |
That's Life! was absolutely just an incredible show. | 0:20:09 | 0:20:13 | |
You know, it really was. | 0:20:13 | 0:20:15 | |
It was ground-breaking, innovative, | 0:20:15 | 0:20:18 | |
informative, it was just... | 0:20:18 | 0:20:20 | |
And funny. | 0:20:20 | 0:20:22 | |
That's Life! hit our screens in 1973, | 0:20:23 | 0:20:26 | |
with Esther being the only presenter to appear in every episode. | 0:20:26 | 0:20:30 | |
Regularly gaining audiences of up to 18 million, | 0:20:30 | 0:20:33 | |
it really was the ultimate British consumer entertainment programme | 0:20:33 | 0:20:37 | |
for over 20 years. | 0:20:37 | 0:20:39 | |
For me, it's when you got arrested. | 0:20:41 | 0:20:43 | |
I'm sorry. HE LAUGHS | 0:20:43 | 0:20:46 | |
Well, there were a series of challenges that day. | 0:20:47 | 0:20:50 | |
We were handing out bat stew. | 0:20:50 | 0:20:52 | |
We were testing to see what it would taste like. | 0:20:52 | 0:20:55 | |
-It's made of bat, what you've just eaten. -Oh, you dirty monkey. | 0:20:55 | 0:20:58 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:20:58 | 0:20:59 | |
Constable A Herbert suddenly emerged, and he said, | 0:20:59 | 0:21:02 | |
"You can't do that there, cos it's obstruction. | 0:21:02 | 0:21:04 | |
"You're going to have to move along." | 0:21:04 | 0:21:06 | |
-You're blocking the pavement. -But we've filmed here every week | 0:21:06 | 0:21:09 | |
-for the last eight years. -I don't care | 0:21:09 | 0:21:11 | |
whether you've filmed here for the last ten years. | 0:21:11 | 0:21:13 | |
If you don't move, I shall arrest you. | 0:21:13 | 0:21:15 | |
I said, "Very well, officer," and I moved along | 0:21:15 | 0:21:17 | |
to the opposite corner, where there was nobody. | 0:21:17 | 0:21:19 | |
But the thing is, if you're handing out bat stew | 0:21:19 | 0:21:22 | |
and there's nobody to eat it, it's not quite so good. | 0:21:22 | 0:21:24 | |
-It's not going to work. -So I came back to the original corner. | 0:21:24 | 0:21:28 | |
And Constable A Herbert, | 0:21:28 | 0:21:31 | |
suitably named, | 0:21:31 | 0:21:33 | |
had been hiding in a doorway, | 0:21:33 | 0:21:36 | |
and he shimmered out, and he said, | 0:21:36 | 0:21:38 | |
"That's it, my girl, you're nicked." | 0:21:38 | 0:21:40 | |
You're arrested. Sorry. | 0:21:40 | 0:21:43 | |
I've just been arrested for handing out bat stew. | 0:21:43 | 0:21:45 | |
Come on, please. | 0:21:45 | 0:21:46 | |
Now, I had not been arrested before, | 0:21:48 | 0:21:50 | |
and I wasn't quite sure of the etiquette. And I said, | 0:21:50 | 0:21:53 | |
"If anyone thinks I'm not guilty, would you mind speaking up for me?" | 0:21:53 | 0:21:57 | |
And the whole crowd shouted, as one, "Guilty!" | 0:21:57 | 0:22:00 | |
-Guilty! -It was the bat! -Guilty! -Guilty! -Guilty! | 0:22:00 | 0:22:02 | |
-Do you miss That's Life!? -Well, what do I miss? | 0:22:07 | 0:22:10 | |
There are lots of things about it I miss. | 0:22:10 | 0:22:13 | |
I miss the fantastic rapport with the viewers. | 0:22:13 | 0:22:16 | |
So we would say, | 0:22:17 | 0:22:19 | |
"Funny-shaped vegetables these days," | 0:22:19 | 0:22:22 | |
and by the next post, we would be inundated | 0:22:22 | 0:22:25 | |
with parsnips and carrots of the most disgraceful nature. | 0:22:25 | 0:22:28 | |
BRIAN LAUGHS | 0:22:28 | 0:22:30 | |
And people always blamed me, and I blame the viewers. | 0:22:30 | 0:22:32 | |
And I miss our wonderful dog that said sausages. | 0:22:32 | 0:22:36 | |
-Oh, yes. -Who is still remembered. | 0:22:36 | 0:22:38 | |
I saw a commercial the other day for beans | 0:22:38 | 0:22:42 | |
and a dog was looking lovingly in the frying pan | 0:22:42 | 0:22:45 | |
and said, "Sausages." | 0:22:45 | 0:22:47 | |
Tell us what you have on a Thursday, Prince. | 0:22:47 | 0:22:49 | |
What does George give you, Prince? | 0:22:49 | 0:22:51 | |
-HE GROWLS -What? | 0:22:51 | 0:22:52 | |
-DOG: -'Sau-sa-ges.' | 0:22:52 | 0:22:53 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:22:53 | 0:22:55 | |
I miss having that fantastic capacity to change things, you know? | 0:22:56 | 0:23:02 | |
A consultant anaesthetist met me at some do | 0:23:02 | 0:23:05 | |
and told me the story of a toddler | 0:23:05 | 0:23:08 | |
who'd been standing up in the back of a car, | 0:23:08 | 0:23:10 | |
Mum had been driving at 5mph in a traffic jam, stopped. | 0:23:10 | 0:23:15 | |
The toddler had fallen forward, | 0:23:15 | 0:23:17 | |
fractured her skull on the handbrake. | 0:23:17 | 0:23:20 | |
And the anaesthetist said to me, | 0:23:20 | 0:23:22 | |
"You wouldn't put fine china loose on the back seat. | 0:23:22 | 0:23:26 | |
"Why would you leave your children where they can be hurt and killed?" | 0:23:26 | 0:23:31 | |
We put that story on the show. | 0:23:31 | 0:23:33 | |
The next morning, the Minister for Transport, Peter Bottomley, | 0:23:33 | 0:23:37 | |
was in our office. I remember he was carrying his red box. | 0:23:37 | 0:23:41 | |
-And he said, "How can I help your campaign?" -Oh, wow. | 0:23:41 | 0:23:43 | |
And I said, "We've got no film showing what happens | 0:23:43 | 0:23:47 | |
"to children in the back of a car. | 0:23:47 | 0:23:50 | |
"Could the road laboratory, road research laboratory, do one?" | 0:23:50 | 0:23:54 | |
So they did. | 0:23:54 | 0:23:55 | |
They put models of children in the back of the car. | 0:23:55 | 0:23:58 | |
The car stopped. | 0:23:58 | 0:24:00 | |
25mph. | 0:24:00 | 0:24:02 | |
The children went straight through the windscreen. | 0:24:02 | 0:24:05 | |
And we showed that eight or nine times. | 0:24:06 | 0:24:10 | |
As we got more stories from the viewers, we showed it again. | 0:24:10 | 0:24:13 | |
And a private member's bill was put through, | 0:24:13 | 0:24:16 | |
and now it's illegal | 0:24:16 | 0:24:18 | |
to leave your children without seat belts on. | 0:24:18 | 0:24:21 | |
So that's what I miss. I miss the capacity to take a single story, | 0:24:21 | 0:24:26 | |
one brave person comes forward, | 0:24:26 | 0:24:28 | |
sometimes someone who's experienced terrible tragedy, loss of a child. | 0:24:28 | 0:24:32 | |
Where you've got a caring nation like Britain, | 0:24:32 | 0:24:35 | |
and all they need is to be given the information, | 0:24:35 | 0:24:39 | |
"This is what's going wrong. | 0:24:39 | 0:24:41 | |
"We think this might be the answer." | 0:24:41 | 0:24:43 | |
And they come forward in droves. | 0:24:43 | 0:24:46 | |
And television is a way to hold out your hand | 0:24:46 | 0:24:50 | |
and know that someone's going to take it. | 0:24:50 | 0:24:52 | |
You know, that's why I love this medium. | 0:24:52 | 0:24:55 | |
So what was it like to have all your hard work recognised, | 0:24:55 | 0:24:58 | |
you know, and become a Dame? | 0:24:58 | 0:25:00 | |
What I have to say is, it was a huge honour, | 0:25:00 | 0:25:03 | |
but it was for services to children and older people. | 0:25:03 | 0:25:07 | |
And it was really to recognise the fantastic work done by ChildLine | 0:25:09 | 0:25:13 | |
and the fantastic work, in two short years - | 0:25:13 | 0:25:16 | |
only been going two years - done by the Silver Line. | 0:25:16 | 0:25:19 | |
So I say thank you to them, | 0:25:21 | 0:25:23 | |
because without the achievements of those two charities, | 0:25:23 | 0:25:28 | |
I wouldn't have been given this honour. | 0:25:28 | 0:25:31 | |
I'm not giving it back. | 0:25:31 | 0:25:33 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:25:33 | 0:25:34 | |
And it is quite funny, because wherever I go, | 0:25:34 | 0:25:38 | |
people say to me, | 0:25:38 | 0:25:40 | |
"How nice to meet you, Dame Edna." | 0:25:40 | 0:25:42 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:25:42 | 0:25:45 | |
-So I've got myself a gladioli thing... -Oh, right. | 0:25:45 | 0:25:48 | |
..and a pair of stunning glasses, | 0:25:48 | 0:25:50 | |
cos I don't want to disappoint people. | 0:25:50 | 0:25:52 | |
Esther, what do you enjoy watching now, | 0:25:58 | 0:26:00 | |
at the moment? | 0:26:00 | 0:26:02 | |
Erm... | 0:26:02 | 0:26:03 | |
I love Gogglebox. | 0:26:03 | 0:26:06 | |
-Yes! -Cos here we sit on the sofa - | 0:26:06 | 0:26:10 | |
in fact, we're being Gogglebox, aren't we? | 0:26:10 | 0:26:12 | |
Watching television, | 0:26:12 | 0:26:14 | |
seeing all the artifice, | 0:26:14 | 0:26:16 | |
seeing the bits of insincerity if it's a politician. | 0:26:16 | 0:26:19 | |
Seeing through all that, | 0:26:19 | 0:26:21 | |
but also caring. | 0:26:21 | 0:26:23 | |
You watch them being moved, | 0:26:23 | 0:26:25 | |
-you watch them roaring with laughter. -Yeah. | 0:26:25 | 0:26:27 | |
I adore Gogglebox. | 0:26:27 | 0:26:29 | |
I'm addicted to the news. I watch the news all the time. | 0:26:29 | 0:26:32 | |
-Rolling news. -And anything about antiques, | 0:26:32 | 0:26:35 | |
which is why I love your decor so much. | 0:26:35 | 0:26:37 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:26:37 | 0:26:38 | |
Anything about antiques, I love those. | 0:26:38 | 0:26:40 | |
It's been a real honour to have you sitting on my sofa. | 0:26:40 | 0:26:44 | |
It really has. | 0:26:44 | 0:26:45 | |
You're an inspiration to a whole nation. You really are... | 0:26:45 | 0:26:50 | |
what is the right word? | 0:26:50 | 0:26:52 | |
Could tell you what Rantzen means in German. | 0:26:52 | 0:26:55 | |
-Go on, what does Rantzen mean in German, then? -Old bag. | 0:26:55 | 0:26:58 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:26:58 | 0:26:59 | |
Maybe that's what you were looking for in that moment. | 0:26:59 | 0:27:02 | |
I was thinking of illuminating and charming. | 0:27:02 | 0:27:05 | |
-Oh, well. -You get a choice now of the theme tune. | 0:27:05 | 0:27:09 | |
Any theme tune for us to play out on. | 0:27:09 | 0:27:11 | |
-Is there anything that springs to mind? -Well, thank you for that. | 0:27:11 | 0:27:14 | |
I would like the theme tune to a programme called Man Alive, | 0:27:14 | 0:27:19 | |
which was written by Tony Hatch, very famous composer. | 0:27:19 | 0:27:22 | |
-Who wrote Neighbours? -He did. | 0:27:22 | 0:27:24 | |
-And Downtown. -Oh, yeah. -Very clever composer. | 0:27:24 | 0:27:27 | |
He wrote this signature tune, and my late husband, | 0:27:27 | 0:27:30 | |
Desmond Wilcox, created Man Alive. | 0:27:30 | 0:27:33 | |
And he always told me that when you hear the... | 0:27:33 | 0:27:36 | |
CLICKING | 0:27:36 | 0:27:38 | |
He did those. | 0:27:38 | 0:27:39 | |
So it's a memory of Dessie. | 0:27:39 | 0:27:41 | |
-All right, well... -And I'd love to hear it again. | 0:27:41 | 0:27:44 | |
We've had some great memories today. Thank you for making them. | 0:27:44 | 0:27:47 | |
Esther Rantzen, Dame Esther Rantzen, | 0:27:47 | 0:27:49 | |
-thank you very much indeed. -Thank you. | 0:27:49 | 0:27:51 | |
APPLAUSE Been a wonderful honour. | 0:27:51 | 0:27:53 | |
My thanks to Esther and my thanks to you | 0:27:53 | 0:27:55 | |
for watching The TV That Made Me. | 0:27:55 | 0:27:57 | |
We'll see you next time. Bye-bye. | 0:27:57 | 0:27:59 | |
MUSIC: Man Alive Theme by Tony Hatch | 0:28:00 | 0:28:03 |